Special Deliveries Collection. Kate Hardy

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СКАЧАТЬ Epilogue

      The wedding wasn’t as small as Nathan wanted and not as large as Amanda had feared.

      There was family—Jake, Terri and the kids. Pam and JT, practically joined at the hip. Amanda had the distinct feeling it wouldn’t be too long before there was another wedding in Royal.

      And there were friends. Piper and Chance and Abby and so many others gathered together to wish them well.

      Nathan had surprised her by outfitting the wraparound porch of their home with all of the rockers and gliders and chairs that she’d talked about once. She could see them in the years to come, sitting on that porch, surrounded by family, and it filled her heart to the point of bursting.

      To avoid the steaming heat of a Texas summer, on the last day of July, the wedding was held in the evening. Lanterns were strewn across the yard, lending a soft glow that was matched only by the early starlight. Flowers in vases, wreaths and vines trailed from every available surface and sweetened the air with a perfume that flavored every breath.

      Tables groaned with food and music played from the stereo situated on Jake’s front porch. Children clambered all over the swing set Jake and Nathan had built while their parents chatted with friends. There was laughter and there was love.

      Amazing how love, when it finally arrived, made the whole world shinier, brighter, more filled with promise.

      “A bride as beautiful as you are shouldn’t be standing here alone,” Nathan said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

      She leaned back into him and smiled, loving the feel of him pressed close, knowing, trusting now, that he always would be. “I was just thinking how perfect today was.”

      “Agreed,” he said and dipped his head to kiss her cheek. “The only way it could have been better was if Alex were here, too.”

      Amanda turned in his arms and looked up at him. She knew his friend’s disappearance was haunting Nathan. It had been nearly a month now and there were just no clues to follow. “You’ll find him, Nathan. And everything will be okay.”

      He nodded, glanced out over the crowd gathered at the Battlelands, then turned his gaze back to hers. “I’m going to have to officially declare him missing.”

      A twinge of worry caught her, but she let it go again because of her faith in Nathan. He would find a way to make this right. “You’ll find him.”

      “I will,” he said, then smiled. “But that’s for tomorrow. Today is for dancing in the moonlight with the woman I love.”

      “I’m never going to get tired of hearing that, you know.”

      He led her onto the makeshift dance floor installed on the front yard specifically for the wedding. And as they moved to the music and their friends and family applauded, Nathan promised, “I’m never going to stop saying it.”

      Amanda gave herself up to the moment, to the magic, to the man who would always be the very beat of her heart.

The Secret in His Heart

       Praise for Caroline Anderson:

      ‘From one of category romance’s most accomplished voices comes a beautifully told, intensely emotional and wonderfully uplifting tale of second chances, new beginnings, hope, triumph and everlasting love. Caroline Anderson’s WEDDING OF THE YEAR is an engrossing, enthralling and highly enjoyable tale that will move you to tears and keep you riveted from the first page until the very last sentence. Moving, heartbreaking and absolutely fantastic, with WEDDING OF THE YEAR Caroline Anderson is at her mesmerising best!’

      —www.cataromance.com on ST PIRAN’S: WEDDING OF THE YEAR

      ‘Photojournalist Maisie Douglas and businessman Robert Mackenzie have been more or less amicably divorced for almost two decades, but the upcoming marriage of their daughter, Jenni, stirs up old emotions on both sides. Very young when she married him, Maisie—pregnant and disowned by her family—was miserable living in Scotland with Rob’s judgmental parents, and left after little more than a year. Maisie hasn’t found another partner and neither has Rob. Can they find a way to trust each other again, after all this time? This lovely reunion romance is rich with emotion and humour, and all of the characters are exquisitely rendered.’

      —RT Book Reviews on MOTHER OF THE BRIDE

      Dear Reader,

      Writing can be an accidental process. The book that preceded this one, From Christmas to Eternity, had a clinical lead called James. That was all I knew about him, until I wrote the words, ‘Why not just take the time and enjoy your family? God knows you’re lucky enough to have one.’ And just like that, James became a person. A widower with a tragic past and no future other than work. Enter Connie, widow of his best friend, ex-colleague—and an attraction he’s spent years denying. But Connie has a problem, and James could help her solve it, if he could defeat his own demons.

      Now, you’d think that’d be enough complication, but, no, I gave them a dog. Not just any dog. I was fascinated when I first learned that Penn Farthing, an ex-serviceman, had ‘adopted’ starving, feral dogs in Helmand and set up a charity to rescue them, so of course when Connie’s husband and James’ friend Joe was killed in Afghanistan, the dog he’d planned to rescue had to come home—the last thing she could do for him. And where Connie goes, Saffy has to go, too, causing havoc and ultimately bringing Connie and James together.

      You can find more about the work of Penn Farthing at www.nowzad.com, and to find out how Saffy helps James and Connie find the love they both deserve, read on …!

       Caroline x

      CAROLINE ANDERSON has the mind of a butterfy. She’s been a nurse, a secretary, a teacher, run her own soft furnishing business, and now she’s settled on writing. She says, ‘I was looking for that elusive something. I fnally realised it was variety, and now I have it in abundance. Every book brings new horizons and new friends, and in between books I have learned to be a juggler. My teacher husband John and I have two beautiful and talented daughters, Sarah and Hannah, umpteen pets, and several acres of Suffolk that nature tries to reclaim every time we turn our backs!’ Caroline also writes for the Mills & Boon^® Medical Romance™ series.

       CHAPTER ONE

      SILENCE.

      No bleeps, no clipped instructions or clattering instruments, no hasty footsteps. Just a blissful, short-lived hush.

      James stretched out his shoulders and felt the tension drain away. The relief was incredible. He savoured it for a moment before breaking the silence.

      ‘Great teamwork, guys. Thank you. You did a good job.’

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